Pasta Aglio e Olio | La Famiglia & Grandma’s Recipes

I think we all have at least one family tradition that we celebrate and many times food marks some fond memories for us. Whether it’s an annual traditional meal or just a reminder of someone we love.

A few years ago my Husband’s Grandma Cetta {pronounced “Chetta”} passed away. To honor her I made the Hubs a cookbook with some of her special recipes, many of them in her own handwriting using scanned images of her recipes and other photos, and I surprised him with it for Christmas.

One of those recipes is Aglio e Olio which is translated as “garlic and oil”. I haven’t shared any of these recipes with you all yet and when Pompeian reached out I thought this might be a good time to share this one because, after all, it’s all about the olive oil in this case. It was actually my Husband’s idea to make it for this post.

There is so much love in all of these dishes and Aglio e Olio is a very basic, but extremely flavorful, Italian staple. Using a great olive oil is really important, especially in this dish. We used Picholine, one of the varieties in the new Pompeian Varietals Collection and it was delicious.

The Picholine is a “medium-bodied extra virgin olive oil with a green fruitiness, hints of herbs and a pleasing balance of bitterness”, and it pairs perfectly with the garlic and herbs in this Aglio e Olio.

If you have never tried this dish, I urge you to NOT be put off by the anchovies. They break down almost completely and just add such an amazing depth of flavor. You have to at least try it! The dish is full of so many robust flavors from the garlic and seasoning and it really is delightful. The Husband prefers linguine, by the way. I wanted angel hair pasta for this one. I won.

We are truly looking forward to cooking and trying new recipes with the other two Pompeian Varietals as well which include:

Arbequina – a mild-bodied extra virgin olive oil with a round taste of mature fruitiness and a delicate sweetness of almonds, ideal for fish and vegetables.

Koroneiki – a full-bodied extra virgin olive oil with robust fruitiness and a sensation of fresh cut grass leading to a peppery finish, perfect for soups and salads.

The Pompeian Varietals are extremely affordable too, and here is something that I think is just so cool. You can actually visit the Pompeian website and track your bottle from olive “tree to table”.

I know I may be a big food geek, but I LOVE that you can learn about each bottle’s special journey and about the unique harvesting process and origin of each olive. So cool! Makes me want to go back to Italy right away.

I hope you will try this special Aglio e Olio recipe – it is so dear to our hearts, and I would also love to hear about a special family recipe from you as well. We always love trying new dishes so please tell me all about it in the comments below. Buon appetito, my friends!!

What an interesting post. We have a new store in our town, where is just for tasting different olive oils. I am looking forward to going there. There really is a difference. I haven’t liked anchovies until recently, when I made the discovery it makes a big bloody difference which ones you use. It was an Oh
Duh moment. Angel hair pasta is one of my favorites. Thank you for sharing a family recipe.

Oh, this looks delicious, Claire! And that cookbook you made for your husband is so sweet! I was thrilled over the summer when I received a cookbook of Italian family recipes that a member of my dad’s family had put together. I didn’t get to know many members of my dad’s family very well as most of them passed when I was very little, so it was really special to me to get these recipes.
Thank you for sharing this recipe with us all!

Aw, that is so awesome you received that cookbook, Carrie! That is so special indeed. I hope you get a chance to try this one and would also love to see one of your family recipes from that cookbook too.